We've had at least 9 days in a row of temps 110 degrees or above, and I am tired of it.
I mean, I know we'll have high temps in the summer, but it's not usually this hot for this long quite so early in the season.
Thank the Goddess for central air!
Several weeks ago, my trusted laptop, a Powerbook G4 that I've had for about 6 years, stopped charging or holding a charge. I took it to someone at the Genius bar at the local Apple Store and learned that it was probably a powersource issue (duh!) and that for $325 I could send it in and get it fixed. They'd do a full diagnosis, and if it was some other problem--motherboard, drive, whatever--they'd fix it for the $325. My other option was to spend $150 and hope it was the powersource. If not, I'd be out the $150, and would need to pay for a diagnosis.
The problem was that my summer online course had just started, and it would be at least 10 days before I got my computer back. OK, I could have survived, but I really didn't want to be stuck using my desktop computer all the damn time. So, I left the Apple Store bummed out but considering my options.
I did a little research and discovered that Apple was having a Back to School special--buy a computer and get a free iTouch. Now, I didn't need an iTouch. I have what is now called a "Classic" iPod as well as an older click wheel model. But a new laptop would be way cool if I could figure out how to justify the purchase.
Enter husband who is going to China for a week in the fall and needs a laptop to take with him. Husband does use the computer all that much and would be happy with word processing and internet access. Hmmm. I could get the old laptop fixed, give it to husband, and get a new one. A little extravagant, but hey, I'm teaching online and really don't want to be stuck at my desk.
Back to the Apple Store I go and learn that not only could I get the free iTouch, but I could also get a free printer and the Adobe Creative Suite 3 for $299.00. And, I could walk out the door with it all that day. Sold!
Here's what I got:
And, I'm lovin' it. My laptop is smokin' fast--2.5 Ghz compared to my old 500 Mhz--and the screen quality is fantastic at 1440 x 900 resolution. I'm not stuck at my desk throughout the day while I'm teaching online. Also, I gave my "classic" ipod to a good friend and plan to give my sister my other older ipod, and, once I take the old laptop in for repair, husband will have a functional laptop.
Wooo hooo.
Bonnie has finally decided she likes swimming. Not that she'll get in on her own, though. When she was just a pup, I spent days easing her into the pool where the steps are located so she'd know where they are in case she ever fell in. I'd ease her into the pool, swim out a ways with her, and then direct her toward the steps. She'd swim to the step like a champ.
After that, she didn't show much interest in the pool, although occasionally she'd come in if husband or I were lounging on the pool steps. Over the past year, I've been sitting with her on the top pool step so she'd get used to the water, and now when she'd hot, she steps onto the first step and lays in the water to cool off. She only does this if we're in the pool, which is good. I don't want her in there unless someone is around.
Several months ago, she started coming into the pool from the first step if I swam up to the step and called her and she could reach out and put her paws on my shoulders. She'd sort-a jump onto my shoulders, and then let me swim out to the middle of the pool with her. Just as we hit the half-way mark, she'd turn, move off my shoulders, then swim back to the steps. We thought it was sweet.
Now we know we created a pest. Every time we've been in the pool over the last week or so, she comes in, sits on the first step and cries until one of us swims up and lets her onto our shoulders. She lets us take her out to the middle of the pool, and sometimes a little further, and then swims back to the steps, shakes off, and cries for someone to come get her again. She will not go into the pool from the step unless she can put her front paws on our shoulders!
Today we were able to "swim" her down to the other end of the pool where there's a bench. Once she figured out she could stand on the bench and her head would be above the water, she loved it. And, she would swim off the bench and back to the steps at the other end. Maybe, just maybe, she'll eventually swim off the steps on her own. Until then, we spend much of our time in the pool now ferrying her to the bench so she can swim the length of the pool.
I'll try to remember to bring my camera out to take some pics. She really does look sweet with her paws on our shoulders as we ferry her about.
Husband and I started taking a yoga class this week at the local Dahn Yoga Center. Today was our third class, and so far I am really enjoying the workout. In Korean, "Dahn" means energy, vitality, and origin of life. The classes are an hour long and include, Meridian Stretching, Breathing and Relaxation Techniques, Meditation and Energy Training, Qigong (DahnMuDo), and end by having Tea with Instructor and Fellow Practitioners. Our first and third classes focused on the Jung-Choong Breathing Postures, while our second class focused on Qigong.
We'd read that some people see Dahn Yoga as a cult, but thus far our experience has been very positive. Yes, the center manager tried to sell us a number of workshops, healing sessions and the like, but when we said we just wanted to go to classes, she backed-off. And while some of our classmates seems to really be into the program--doing classes 6 days a week, attending workshops and healing sessions--no one has tried to convince us of anything.
My philosophy is that we'll learn what works for us and if something seems particularly weird or hokey, we won't do it. We can't do all the exercises and poses yet, and holding some of the poses is difficult, but I think we'll get there if we stick to it.
And, we're learning a little Korean along the way. So far, I've learned to say "Hello, how are you?"
At the beginning of class we all greet one another with "Ahn-Nyung-Hah-Ship-Ni-Ga?" There are other words and phrases, but I can't remember them yet.
Well, soon, anyway.
I had my annual eye exam yesterday and learned my eyes have changed quite a bit over the last year. Last year I just needed a single vision lens for distance. That ended up being a real pain in the ass, though, because I would have to take off my glasses to read anything up close, and I do a lot of up close reading. So, as a result, I mostly wore my glasses while driving and watching TV. I could see ok at a distance--things were just a little fuzzy.
Lately, though, I noticed that everything was seeming a bit fuzzy, and yesterday's exam confirmed it. My distance vision had changed 2 steps and my close range vision had changed 3 steps. So, I'm moving into progressive lenses. I had actually tried progressives 2 years ago, and hated them. The visual range seemed way too narrow and walking felt hazardous because the ground came in and out of focus. That was the thing that bothered me the most--probably because this was soon after my spine surgery and I didn't feel very sure-footed anyway.
I was contemplating getting three pair of glasses--reading, distance, and sun--when the tech demonstrated this new kind of progressive lens they have now with a much wider range. I played around with a sample pair close to my RX, and didn't have the same sense of tunnel vision I'd had before. So, I ordered a pair.
So, we'll see how it goes (awful pun, I know).
It's June, so that means we're taking the animals for their annual check ups. Shelly is the exception: the exotic vet comes to her. Last week we took Boomer, Scooter, and Clyde in, and this week we'll take Bonnie and Rusty.
Boomer and Scooter are healthy six year olds. Boomer has a bit of gingivitas, so he'll have his teeth cleaned sometime next month. Neither cat likes leaving the house. Scooter sulks in silence while shooting his death glare at whomever enters his line of sight. Boomer yowls the entire time. It's the most excruciating yowl I've heard. We go through this every year, and it never gets any better.
Clyde's appointment came at a good time. He'd been refusing to get up and eating very little for a couple days, so we were anxious to see what was going on with him. His annual check up turned into a several day event because it turns out he has pneumonia again. They don't think this is a recurrence of his last bout with pneumonia because his lungs were clear, and they don't know why he would get it again. What they do know is that both his lungs are full of fluid and he had a very high fever. A day and a half of IV fluids and antibiotics brought his temp down to normal, and he's been home for two days now and is doing well. He's devouring his food, he's fully mobile, and he's breathing without difficulty.
He'll be on antibiotics for two weeks, and then they'll do another set of x-rays of his lungs. In the meantime, we're monitoring his breathing and watching to see if he develops a cough.
We're hoping this isn't going to be an on-going problem for him. His age and medical history worry us. But, once again, he's rallied and is doing well.
Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I posted. I've had lots going on and little time to post. I'm going to do a little catching-up here in several brief posts.
So, when I last checked in, I was pulling my hair out prepping for my summer online course. I am happy to say, I am far from bald, and as of week 2, the class is running pretty smoothly. It really doesn't seem much like teaching, though. It seems more like corresponding about writing and ideas with a bunch of people I don't know but who look to me for advice. Granted, it's a shitload of work and I'm earning every penny they're paying me, but it's very different from even a hybrid class that meets online and face to face. I guess I miss the face to face interaction, and it's that human contact that feels like teaching to me. Maybe if I teach a few more online classes I'll feel differently, but while I like being able to sit in my PJs and avoid putting $4 + a gallon as in my car to drive to campus, I'm not convinced the online thing is for me.
That said, there are some improvements in Blackboard 8 that have made online life much easier. I'm not advocating this software, but it's what my institution is using, and as someone teaching fully online for the first time, I decided to go with what was available rather than trying to cobble together something else.
What I like in BB 8 is that they've now integrated the Discussion Board with the grade book, so when you post a DB assignment, a grade column for that assignment is automatically added to the grade book. And, you can grade students' responses right in the DB and the grades are automatically entered into the grade book. I also like that I can now see in the grade book (now called "Grade Center") when students have posted assignments and can access them from the grade book, read them, and assign grades all in the same place.
Now, too, WYSIWYG formatting (what they're calling "Blackboard Visual Text Box Editor" editor) is available in all features. I find this really useful for highlighting deadline, activities, and other important information.
They've also made it possible to change the way a course title appears in the Blackboard course list; they've added an Early Warning System that lets instructors define rules that measure user performance based on a attendance and items in the Grade Center and it can be set up to notify you when students are in danger of failing, have completed a set percentage of course work, have turned in an assignment or are performing exceptionally well; the grade book--now "grade center"--has lots of new features as does the discussion board.
So, while it's still the evil Blackboard, it's a new an improved evil Blackboard
Here's Cody
I think I did something stupid. This summer I agreed to teach a fully on-line course for the first time, in part because I wanted to give on-line teaching a try, and because we need some additional income to pay for Clyde's surgery and hospital stay and our new heating/cooling system. So what the hell, I thought, I've been teaching hybrid courses--half time in-class and half time on-line--for the last 8+ years, so I'm certainly not a total newbie. This won't be so bad. HA!
I've been working on the course for the last week and a half, and I feel like a total novice. I know I have to post detailed written instructions for everything, but do I have students post stuff every day, twice a week, once a week, or what? Yikes. And then writing out all those instructions and assignments and activities. Ugh!
I've finally decided to try to do something similar to what I'd do in a summer hybrid where we'd be on-line Monday and Friday and meet face:face Tuesday through Thursday. Most days students will post something, although I have scheduled a few drafting/research days when nothing is due and students are to work on research or drafting. And that seems to be working. I'm going to post daily announcements in Blackboard explaining the day's work and previewing what's coming up, so that should help keep students on track. But it's really tedious work, and I have to keep going back over each "announcement" to make sure I covered everything. It's a real pain in the ass.
I've drafted all the activities I'm going to assign as well as the essay assignments, so I need to finish and post those and then make sure they're presented in the appropriate announcement. I've also added external links for further information about research, citation and documentation, revision, etc--the sorts of things I usually include when developing course websites. Finally, I've recorded some podcasts for the course, mostly talking about the kinds of things I usually go over in class: research strategies, writing processes, organization, development, etc.
Tomorrow I start a 4-day workshop on teaching on-line, so I'm hoping to pick up some good ideas there. Ironically, that workshop is being held on campus and not on-line--I suppose because it's easier to teach face:face!
I'm hoping to have everything written and posted before the course begins so once it does, I can focus on reading and responding to students' work.
Any tips, suggestions, strategies are most welcome!
I've been experiencing pain in my left foot for the last month or so. I was pretty sure it was plantar fasciitis--I've had it before--but I'd hoped it go away if I just wore my orthotics. It didn't. So, today I went to the podiatrist, and he confirmed my diagnosis.
After taking x-rays of both my feet, he also gave me three injections: 2 in my left foot--one in my heel and one on the top of my foot between my big and second toe--one one in my right heel. Damn those shots hurt! The x-rays showed I have heel spurs on each foot, but no other problems were visible. In addition to the injections, I also now have a night splint I need to wear on alternate feet for the next few weeks.
I've have these sorts of injections before, about 9 years ago, and they worked. I'm hoping they do the same this time.
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